What the Obamas did on their Maine vacation

President Obama and family are staying busy this weekend on coastal Maine.

Among the first family activities:

- A visit to the Bar Harbor Club, where visitors are invited "to socialize and relax with family and friends at the water's edge." Among the options: Clay tennis courts, fitness center, spa, food and drink in the Pool House and a stroll beside the ocean.

White House spokesman Bill Burton said the Obamas "played some tennis and hung out at the pool."

- A tour of the Bass Harbor Head Light, a functioning lighthouse operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.

- A 90-minute bike ride in Acadia National Park.

- A tour atop Cadillac Mountain, which at 1,500 feet is the highest elevation point on the Atlantic Coast.

- A stop at the Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream shop in downtown Bar Harbor, as a small crowd gathered.

The president got coconut in a cone. "It's good stuff guys, how are you?" he greeted some young women who turned out to be German exchange students. "Well, is everybody here for a whole year? ... All right. Auf Wiedersehen."

- A boat ride around Frenchmen Bay, along with top aide Valerie Jarrett.

- Dinner at Stewman's restaurant. (Maine produces 60 to 70% of the lobster consumed in the United States, we have learned.)

By the way, our pooler Michael Memoli of the Chicago Tribune provides this info about the Bar Harbor Club, from its website:

"During the stock market crash of 1929 J.P. Morgan started construction on the exclusive waterfront oasis which opened to the grandest ball the island had ever seen on July 4th, 1930. The Bar Harbor Club was once a private playground for the town's wealthiest summer residents such as Joseph Pulitzer, John D. Rockefeller Jr., Edward T. Stotesbury and other movers and shakers of the day."

The spa is open to the general public but there is membership for the full facility. An application on the website says membership costs $1,825 for a married couple.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Approval ratings, 1945-present

About David Jackson

David's journalism career spans three decades, including coverage of five presidential elections, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 2000 Florida presidential recount and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the White House for USA TODAY since 2005. His interests include history, politics, books, movies and college football -- not necessarily in that order. More about David